In the Club is a recurring series in which the Scene explores Nashville’s social club offerings.
If you ask a group of goths whether it’s hard to be goth in the summer, you’ll hear a resounding and pained “YES!”
Tennessee’s oppressive heat is something to contend with for people who find themselves in vinyl clothes, petticoats, tights, chunky boots and black velvet on a regular basis — not to mention the occasional balaclava. It’s hard to be a goth in the American South, but what the lifestyle lacks in practicality, it makes up for in community.
GOTHBATS, or Guild of Tennessee Humanitarians Bolstering Alternative Trending Subcultures, formed through a 2022 picnic hosted in a cemetery.
The all-female board members of GOTHBATS represent a range of personal styles, from glam goth (think lace, leather and intricate makeup) to vampire goth (Victorian-inspired, fangs optional), Lolita goth (frilly looks originating in Japan) to cyber goth (industrial neon featured in the classic YouTube clip “cybergoth dance party”). They love fashion and host a yearly fashion show to showcase members’ creations, but it’s really not just about the outfits. What brings them together is a shared interest in dark aesthetics, music, fashion and literature.
“Goth is also a love and appreciation of things that typically aren’t loved and appreciated,” says GOTHBATS admin team member Rachel Morrell. “Spooky things. Things that, because you don’t know about them, people tend to be afraid of.”
The group can relate to the underappreciated creepy-crawlies of the world, Morrell says, because sometimes people misunderstand goths.
Depending on their occupation, some members live a bit of a double life. But many of them already know what it’s like to hide their gothness under a bushel, having grown up in more traditional and often religious households. They’re eager to show their style.
“My persona during the day, I call it ‘corporate goth,’” says admin team member Leslie Benson. “I wear business wear with a little black touch — a little accessory or something. But then at night, I let it all hang out.”
While club members love specialty DJ nights like Fascination Street at The East Room and She’s Lost Control at Cobra, part of the club’s goal is to provide opportunities for people to come out in their gothic best during the day, too. GOTHBATS host picnics, clothing swaps and volunteer opportunities, including at Nashville Pride and cemetery cleanups.
For treasurer Laura Collins, gothic tendencies started at a very early age — when she announced her favorite color was black.
“I saw this beautiful woman with neon-green hair and a chain running from her ear to her nose, and spiked shoulder pads and a leather jacket, fishnets and spiked biker gloves,” she tells the Scene. “I was 7, I saw her and I was like, ‘I want to be that woman.’”
Today it’s important to the group members to show up decked out whenever they can to help make the path easier for “Baby Bats” — people of any age who are just getting into the gothic subculture.
“My goal in dressing the way I do out in public everyday is to set a good example, and to be that first contact for a lot of people in the South,” Morrell says. “That way, maybe if their kid starts getting into goth and dressing in an alternative way, maybe that parent is a little easier on them.”
Morrell’s mother didn’t need an explanation on goth culture — she was the one to introduce her to Dark Shadows, a ’60s horror soap opera. Other group members have their own entry points into the goth world. They drew inspiration from movies like The Crow, anime series and specific fictional characters like Lydia Deetz from Beetlejuice and Wednesday Addams of The Addams Family. Others played video games like Doom, and listened to industrial metal from acts like Switchblade. (Yes, many also frequented Hot Topic.) The GOTHBATS are less about Marilyn Manson, The Cure, Nine Inch Nails and … well, Satan, than the mainstream world may assume.
They may not look approachable, but that’s perhaps the most egregious misconception. Goths like dark things, but when they’re able to express themselves, they’re generally happy — chipper, even. Collins says expressing her goth identity has made the difference.
“I have become happier, less depressed, less emotional,” Collins says. “I have become more confident. The confidence from being who you are is so incredible.”
The group is made up of people who were often not allowed to express themselves in their youth, and the ones who could were bullied for doing so. They want to ensure that nobody else feels the way they did.
“Many of us came from an environment where we were bullied, or where we didn’t belong,” says admin team member Endora Gloom. “We came to the goth scene and found other people that are like us, that are also outcasts.”
Morrell sympathizes. “Sometimes people think that if they do express themselves truly that they’ll be alone, they won’t have anybody,” she says. “But if you express yourself, you’ll tend to find people who are like-minded.”
Being goth is a mindset. Show up in a band tee and enjoy the company.
Admin team member Kat Gaume sums it up. “You don’t have to look goth to be goth, you just have to be cool and nice.”
